For the first time in their history, Manchester City will go into a Champions League campaign as the holders.
After a few years as the consistently defeated ‘team to beat’, the Cityzens finally got their hands on the trophy in 2022/23 alongside a Premier League title and the FA Cup, meaning they equalled Manchester United’s treble achievement.
Arguably the most impressive thing about Man City’s journey to Champions League glory in 2022/23 is that they never really looked in any trouble. They had a slight wobble in the first leg against RB Leipzig in the last 16 before emphatically progressing.
City then cruised past Bayern Munich and Real Madrid before beating Inter in a final which, while very tight, was only ever going to end in one result.
Winning the Champions League is really hard, but defending it is even harder. Here are some of the teams City could be facing straight from the off.
Given they won the Premier League and the Champions League, there are no prizes for guessing which pot Pep Guardiola’s side are in.
They could have taken two places in Pot 1 had the rules allowed it, but instead their double qualification means Feyenoord go into Pot 1 as Dutch champions.
2023/24 Champions League pot 1
|
Team |
League |
UEFA coefficient |
|---|---|---|
|
Manchester City |
Premier League |
145.000 |
|
Sevilla |
La Liga |
91.000 |
|
Barcelona |
La Liga |
98.000 |
|
Napoli |
Serie A |
81.000 |
|
Bayern Munich |
Bundesliga |
136.000 |
|
Paris Saint-Germain |
Ligue 1 |
112.000 |
|
Benfica |
Primeira Liga |
82.000 |
|
Feyenoord |
Eredivisie |
51.000 |
|
Team |
League |
Pot |
UEFA coefficient |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Real Madrid |
La Liga |
2 |
121.000 |
|
Inter |
Serie A |
2 |
96.000 |
|
Borussia Dortmund |
Bundesliga |
2 |
86.000 |
|
Atletico Madrid |
La Liga |
2 |
85.000 |
|
RB Leipzig |
Bundesliga |
2 |
84.000 |
|
Porto |
Primeira Liga |
2 |
81.000 |
|
Shakhtar Donetsk |
Ukrainian Premier League |
3 |
63.000 |
|
Red Bull Salzburg |
Austrian Bundesliga |
3 |
59.000 |
|
AC Milan |
Serie A |
3 |
50.000 |
|
Lazio |
Serie A |
3 |
42.000 |
|
Red Star Belgrade |
Serbian SuperLiga |
3 |
42.000 |
|
Real Sociedad |
La Liga |
3 or 4 |
33.000 |
|
Celtic |
Scottish Premiership |
3 or 4 |
31.000 |
|
6 qualifiers |
N/A |
3 or 4 |
N/A |
|
Union Berlin |
Bundesliga |
4 |
17.000 |
|
Lens |
Ligue 1 |
4 |
12.232 |
You may have noticed that Pot 1 does not actually look as terrifying as it normally would. That can only mean one thing; Pot 2 is stacked with superb teams that can cause anyone issues.
There’s one side that stands out above the rest; Real Madrid. Man City may have cruised past them last season, but they have already added Jude Bellingham and will not stop there.
There are other brilliant teams such as Inter, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Manchester United and Arsenal are also Pot 2 side but cannot meet in the group stage.
When you get down towards Pots 3 and 4, there are clubs that can cause issues for anyone on their day. That being said, there is little at this stage to strike any serious fear into the hearts of City fans.
It is all redundant as far as Pot 3 is concerned because Man City will just draw Shakhtar Donetsk again, as is tradition. If by some miracle they don’t, the other teams currently confirmed for Pot 3 are RB Salzburg, AC Milan, Lazio and Red Star Belgrade. A little trip to Italy could certainly be on the horizon for Man City.
Newcastle, Celtic and Real Sociedad are currently hovering between Pot 3 and Pot 4 as they await the outcome of the qualifying rounds. Man City cannot face Newcastle but could draw Celtic as they did in 2016. A group containing Man City and Real Sociedad would allow David Silva to make a nostalgic return to the Etihad
As for the confirmed Pot 4 sides, there is only Lens and Union Berlin at this stage. Neither will scare City, but both are fascinating teams and clubs in their own right.
